# My first trip into the dark



## DrGonzo (Dec 8, 2015)

I made my first dark side order! After doing some research and reading back years of posts here I finally jumped off the cliff into the dark side. I think I did it right. I ordered a 25 box of partagas shorts:smile2: I'm gearing up for my second order after these arrive and I make sure everything's on the up&up. For my second order I'm thinking a box of huhc and a box of bcj.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Welcome to the darkside! Good picks, all! 

The Parti Shorts may need a bit of a rest (based on other reports and one box of 2014's I got earlier this year). But, maybe not. Just gotta' try one and see. If so, though, don't let that put you off CC's. A few months rest can do wonders... and a few years aging can elicit even more remarkable changes with most.

Those HUHC's and BCJ's you're contemplating have been smoking particularly well lately; good ROTT.


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

DrGonzo said:


> *After doing some research and reading back years of posts here* I finally jumped off the cliff into the dark side. I think I did it right.


Kudos to you DrG for doing exactly what you said above, and a note to all those thinking of dipping their toe into the pond... That ^ is the right way to do it! And congrats on the first purchase. Those are a nice safe entry into the world of CC's. :vs_cool:


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## DrGonzo (Dec 8, 2015)

Thank you guys! And thanks for all the info that comes from your posts, very helpful.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

DrGonzo said:


> Thank you guys! And thanks for all the info that comes from your posts, very helpful.


Glad to see someone with the initiative to figure it out, Gonz. Same way most of us did, I bet.


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## jmcqueen (Dec 22, 2015)

gonz, similar story here. i was going to go with the shorts, and then the serie p no. 2's went on sale for around $9 each. couldn't pass that up. then, while in central america a month ago, i scored 2 boxes of serie d no. 4's. they are sleeping until next spring. the 2's are puffing deliciously, but should be very good in about 6 months, and maybe even sublime with a year or two. the 4's are really barn-yardy right now with no cream. i will sample over the next couple to three years to see when they come in. as it is, i still have quite a few doms and nics that i enjoy tremendously in these interim periods between smoking a cc.


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## DrGonzo (Dec 8, 2015)

Nice stash jmcqueen!


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## DrGonzo (Dec 8, 2015)

My first order landed today! Little over a week ship time. I have a second order of bcj ordered and am working on my third. Thinking either bpc, huhc, or the 2 box of pmf.


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## Champagne InHand (Sep 14, 2015)

I would suggest some nice long sized stick to age like Parti Lusitania or Bolivar Libertador. I am looking at the Libertador or the RA SS as the next Cubans to lay down. I wish I had bought a full box of 25 Lusitania, but am happy with the box of 10. I think boxes of 10 are nice to age. Boxes with 25 lend to cheating, at least in my cases.


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## jmcqueen (Dec 22, 2015)

+1 on the RASS. i just saw that that the 2014/15 boxes received the #2 "Cigar Of The Year" by CA. i haven't a one of these currently in my stash, but do plan on picking some up. before i do, i want to see if santa remembered me and what he might bring. i have been a "naughty boy" this past year, suffering from a severe case of CAS, so i'm thinking about the only thing i will receive this year which has good burning characteristics will be a lump of anthracite coal. also, to Champagne's point, yes... you really should get some lay-downs. monte #2's, party presidentes or lusitanias, and then maybe RyJ church's. any of the 6-inchers and up with a 48 ring or larger should do the trick. really though, what it comes down to is what YOU want to do and where you want to go with the hobby.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

@*DrGonzo* - Nothing wrong with the suggestions being made, of course. But, it's okay to ease into it too. So, I think you're on the right track already. Seems completely reasonable to me to buy stuff that has the promise of smoking young... and with a manageable dollar commitment. It's a slippery enough slope without having to push-off at the top of the hill.

@*jmcqueen* - Not to put to fine a point on it, but the RASS that Cigar Aficionado based that "Best of 2015" ranking on was a 2013. My latest are OCT 2014's and they're gonna' need some time to come around. I've heard much the same from other BOTL's about 2015's too. OTOH, in the same format, recent BRC's have been outstanding young. I'm also gonna' have to invoke my own bit of cynicism_... "Trust CA's ratings? Are you kidding me?"_


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## jmcqueen (Dec 22, 2015)

ummm....i always wonder at the current best of year for this very reason. cc's have to age before ready. yes, i use CA as only one point and opinion. we don't know how much $'s are behind favorable reviews. it's all about 'dat money!


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## Champagne InHand (Sep 14, 2015)

Should have bought them before CA blows the prices out of the waters. It's my biggest beef with wine critics and their fish wrap as well. You enjoy fantastic wine, and some flunky attorney who can blow words from hid backside writes a review with eloquent wording and numbers above 98 on a 100 point scale, then all the sudden the ignorant masses come and take all the stock or drive prices to triple. The fools don't rest the wine but chug them. Go play with your basset hounds, Mr commentator of the obvious. I pretty much hate when a critic puts their glowing stamp of approval on the stuff I am or was going to buy. Then all the others that are different in a good way,nary to change and lean more towards copying the pet wine/cigar instead of staying their glorious selves to be enjoyed for their subtle differences. 

Okay probably enough critic bashing. I'm probably just jealous as the drink the best for free, then utter words that I use regularly... damn you law school and undergrad for making me into a human thesaurus. It's like hating the guy who made millions upon millions for liquid paper. Fast drying white paint for people that used typewriters or pen. I worked mostly in medicine so we couldn't use the stuff or erase anything we wrote down. Just a simple line through it and our initials. They don't even do that anymore with computer charting. Tort lawyers were a big push towards correctable entries, but they are supposed to be time stamped. 

I guess congrats RASS. May I be an.e to free up some dollars to buy you and not be negative about your VA celebrity status. How capitalist of them. Hopefully they paid for some advert time and maybe some cash under the table in moves towards how things are truly done in Democratic republics, not that we admit such things. 


"What should we start with?"
"An '82 Margaux."
"Is it good?"
"Good? It will make you believe in God!"


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## jmcqueen (Dec 22, 2015)

easy, man. steady as she goes, because, after all, we like what we like in a good cc. all are good (with some exceptions) in their own right and have something to offer just about every palette. the consumer driven question is, "what's good," and therein lies the conflagration. we want to keep secret what is good, yet, at the same time, we want to know what others think on the 0 to 10 scale as to what is good. human nature, i suppose. BUT, it sure makes for some crazy prices in the market.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

I love it when they talk about something being a "hidden gem" in an article published for mass distribution like it's a secret to be kept just between you and the author. Really?


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## selpo (Nov 4, 2015)

Enjoy Dr. Gonzo!!

On a different note, my family are coming thru Istanbul and had them check the duty free over there for BBF, RASS and PMF- apparently only had one box of PMF, Aug 15 and none of the RASS and prices were more than some of the forum members favorite online store- I guess I will be placing another order soon:grin2::grin2:


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

selpo said:


> ...family are coming thru Istanbul and had them check the duty free over there... prices were more than... online store


Ah, but I bet hookah tobacco was cheap!


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## Cigary (Oct 19, 2007)

jmcqueen said:


> easy, man. steady as she goes, because, after all, we like what we like in a good cc. all are good (with some exceptions) in their own right and have something to offer just about every palette. the consumer driven question is, "what's good," and therein lies the conflagration. we want to keep secret what is good, yet, at the same time, we want to know what others think on the 0 to 10 scale as to what is good. human nature, i suppose. BUT, it sure makes for some crazy prices in the market.


You make a strong statement with how we tend to perceive CC's or NC's that we view as the creme de la creme and then deal with the reality of whether we want to extol their special virtues and then see them rise in price only to regret that we said anything before buying as much as we could afford before that rise in price...or in JFK's story he had Pierre Salinger buy him 1200 Upmanns Petite and then started the famous Embargo. I've discovered some special cigars that when I discovered them I bought boxes of them and extolled their virtues as well...I bought them early when they were like $30 for a box that went up to $100 a box in about 4 months. I even did reviews on them which I have a sinking feeling that might have led to their popularity....same with the Puros Huerfanos 681 ( which was highly regarded as the LP #9 with a different cigar band ) and I bought a ton of those as well....they soon went buh bye and I smoked my fair share of LP #9 as well as the PH and there wasn't anything that told me that both weren't the same cigar...boy howdy was I excited to buy 8 boxes of those and still have a few laying around.

It pays to read reviews and try them at different monthly intervals to get a real taste....if you love em buy em buy the boxload.:wink2:


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## Roket279 (Dec 15, 2015)

Following on the coattail of the OP, I'm waiting on my first order, Partgas D No. 4 box of 25..... Yay..


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## DrGonzo (Dec 8, 2015)

Awesome rocket! Welcome to the darkside. I've ordered 4 more boxes since this post! The slope is slippery! the partagas shorts are awesome after I smoked 3 I ordered 2 more boxes of them.


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## jmcqueen (Dec 22, 2015)

as to the "slippery slope"....yep, gotta be careful. as i have written before: _*i stand at the precipice of contemplative consideration with a firm footing, methinks, only to be fooled, for but a moment, completely seduced by the unknown sheet of ice whereupon i tread, with no hope of recovery to solid ground. i am one to be most pitied, for the control i sought was as fleeting as a nightingale at dawn. *_


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## Champagne InHand (Sep 14, 2015)

Waiting in a box of Partagas Presidentes. May need to order the RyJ Churchills after watching the aged but good documentary Habanos. Cigars for Connoisseurs. Great to hear how many habanos got their names. We shall see. So many great NCs, that when on sale with deep discounts makes me pause on the CCs. 


What shall we have? An '82 Margaux! Is it any good? Good....?, It will make you believe in God!


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## TomF (Apr 14, 2015)

For your next box of Shorts, and you will want to buy another box, get the 50 cab. The more cigars you have bundled together the better they will age, and the best ones are selected to go into the 50 cabs.


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## DrGonzo (Dec 8, 2015)

TomF said:


> For your next box of Shorts, and you will want to buy another box, get the 50 cab. The more cigars you have bundled together the better they will age, and the best ones are selected to go into the 50 cabs.


Awesome! Thanks for the info tom! I just received 2 cabs of shorts. I have a order of bcjs in route they've been in customs since Jan 7, do u guys think that's too long?


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

DrGonzo said:


> I have a order of bcjs in route they've been in customs since Jan 7, do u guys think that's too long?


It could go either way. Might be a goner. But, I've had shipments stuck longer that eventually came through.

Only thing you can do is wait. Most vendors give it a month or more before taking action on delivery guarantees... unless you get a confiscation letter you can show them sooner.


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

I've never had a cc . I know they're good from hearing you guys talk about them, and the extent you go through to get them. Are they that mind blowing that all this trouble is worth it, or is it more the forbidden fruit and status factor?

I understand if it's one of those "if you haven't experienced it, , I can't explain it " kinda things.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

UBC03 said:


> I've never had a cc . I know they're good from hearing you guys talk about them, and the extent you go through to get them. Are they that mind blowing that all this trouble is worth it, or is it more the forbidden fruit and status factor?
> 
> I understand if it's one of those "if you haven't experienced it, , I can't explain it " kinda things.


Anyone that believes that "forbidden fruit" nonsense either hasn't ever tried a good Cuban or is buying counterfeits (I know, I know, there's a paradox somewhere in that statement).

@*UBC03*: You'll see for yourself soon enough. USPS was closed for MLK Day today, though.


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## Champagne InHand (Sep 14, 2015)

There are a lot of good Cubans but there are some that have bad timing. It's definitely a different experience but only in the USA is this something that is a rarity to find yourself with. Being right across from Canada they are more available than good Nicaraguan puros or the better Dominicans. Trouble is that they are rarely stored properly unless you go to a dedicated tobacco outlet or cigar place. Nothing worse than dried out RyJ tubos. 


What shall we have? An '82 Margaux! Is it any good? Good....?, It will make you believe in God!


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## Roket279 (Dec 15, 2015)

Order just arrived Part SD4.... all looks good. Since this is my first trip on the dark side of the moon (I'm a Pink Floyd, bah humbug Star Wars).

Since its my first, wanted to ask a few details... ive done quite an amount of investigating before ordering, but am curious. Questions to confirm authenticity is all...

The cedar inside the box of 25 when opened with a 1/4 moon notch in top right looks stamped with black ink with the "Flor de Tabacos" stamp rather than burnt in like the ones on the remainder of the box. is that common? it is so darn black.. lol


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## Champagne InHand (Sep 14, 2015)

Roket279 said:


> Order just arrived Part SD4.... all looks good. Since this is my first trip on the dark side of the moon (I'm a Pink Floyd, bah humbug Star Wars).
> 
> Since its my first, wanted to ask a few details... ive done quite an amount of investigating before ordering, but am curious. Questions to confirm authenticity is all...
> 
> The cedar inside the box of 25 when opened with a 1/4 moon notch in top right looks stamped with black ink with the "Flor de Tabacos" stamp rather than burnt in like the ones on the remainder of the box. is that common? it is so darn black.. lol


My best thoughts on the subject is go with a trusted vendor. Parti SD4 is a very common and good smoke. They also come in different formats. Post up some pictures in the "What's your latest CC purchase thread," and your certain to get opinions.

"What should we start with?"
"An '82 Margaux."
"Is it good?"
"Good? It will make you believe in God!"


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## Roket279 (Dec 15, 2015)

done.....thnx


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## jmcqueen (Dec 22, 2015)

UBC03 said:


> I've never had a cc . I know they're good from hearing you guys talk about them, and the extent you go through to get them. Are they that mind blowing that all this trouble is worth it, or is it more the forbidden fruit and status factor?
> 
> I understand if it's one of those "if you haven't experienced it, , I can't explain it " kinda things.


Cc's have a flavor profile that many prefer over the 5 yr aged nc's or dc's. Most cc's are aged between 6 weeks and 12 months, so patience after receipt is well-rewarded. You must try them to understand. I enjoy them. Period. I don't think of them as status nor forbidden fruit. Quite the contrary can be argued. Many are both less expensive than a fine nc's, and possessing Cuban tobacco in the USA is no longer unilaterally illegal.


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